The present invention relates to an apparatus for and a method of controlling cooperative operations, which work to simultaneously execute the same processing with cooperative operations of a plurality of terminals connected to a network.
With personalization of a computer system in recent years, an environment is going to be prepared, wherein a single person has one set of computer. Further, in this computer system, a plurality of computers are connected to a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network). Distributed processing of the data can be executed between the computers via the network. Under such circumstances, there is demanded such an environment that the same processing is simultaneously executed by the computer-to-computer cooperative operations by use of the computer system.
In a cooperative operation control apparatus for performing the cooperative operations, a plurality of terminals, e.g., the above computers, are connected to each other via the network. Each terminal is provided with a processing section for executing the processing of an application program. A cooperation controlling section for operating each processing section is provided corresponding to each processing section.
Each cooperation controlling section inputs user's input data to a self-terminal from a data inputting section such as a mouse or a keyboard. The cooperation controlling section simultaneously outputs the input data of the self-terminal to other terminal which should operate in cooperation. Then, each terminal supplies the input data to the processing section, thereby starting the above processing.
Subsequently, the data which should be used in common are distributed to each terminal during the cooperative operation of each processing section. Each processing section refers to the identical input data among items of the data which should be used in common. It is thus possible for the user to refer to or retrieve and update the identical input data.
Further, in other conventional cooperative operation control apparatuses, the cooperation controlling section temporarily transmits the input data of the self-terminal to an input server. Hereat, the input server having a right of control simultaneously outputs the input data of the self-terminal to other terminals which should operate in cooperation.
Each cooperation controlling section, however, causes each processing section to operate in cooperation all the time, and hence, the processing sections always use the same input data in common from the start of processing to the end thereof. For this reason, each cooperation controlling section can not, e.g., refer to other items of data among the data used in common. Alternatively, each cooperation controlling section can not individually make a memorandum. Further, it is impossible to perform operations such as a personal-base modification with respect to paper materials in a daily conference.